Harvest progress in the UK

The cereal harvest is now complete for those reporting in this survey. Anecdotally, there are some small areas of spring barley crops and some pulses left to be cut, particularly in Northern Ireland and North Scotland, although these are anticipated to be completed soon.

This harvest has been extremely challenging for many growers. Even where yields have been above expectations from earlier in the year, price declines throughout the course of the year will have had a significant impact on the profitability of arable farms.

Overall, the 2025 harvest progressed quickly with little need to dry crops, though rainfall slowed the pace of harvest towards the end. But the overriding message from this harvest is variability, with considerable variations in yield both within and between regions. 

*up to 24 September 2025.

**historical yields include both winter and spring oilseed rape.

Source: AHDB, Defra. 

As with the previous reports, there is a split in the quality challenges for spring malting barley. In the South of England, high nitrogen levels will impact the ability of the crop to trade into some markets. In the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland, high screenings continue to be the overriding challenge for the crop. Reports of screening levels of up to 30% are not uncommon, with loads being downgraded to feed. This split in quality also hampers inter-UK trade, with English spring barley nitrogen levels too high for the areas where screenings have been the main challenge.

While the quality of spring barley is poorer, demand for malting barley is weaker than in recent years and marketing the crop is proving challenging.

With harvest all but complete, attention turns to establishing next year’s crops. Many farmers have been out this week spraying off weeds in advance of establishing winter cereals. The rainfall that slowed progress in the latter weeks of this harvest also improved conditions for cultivations and for the development of earlier-sown oilseed rape crops in many areas. However, this is not enough to offset the dryness of the last six months.

This is the final report of 2025.

The latest 2025 information is now available to view in the report.

Use the drop down menus at the top of the dashboard to select a harvest week and crop. This will allow you to view the national harvested area for that crop (top chart) as well as a regional breakdown (right-hand chart).

National quality and yield information (left-hand table) is also available for all crops alongside harvest progress comments (map). The line chart tracks national harvest progress, for the selected crop, compared to previous years

Use the drop down menus at the top of the second chart to view the harvest progress, of a particular crop, throughout the season

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